Method and apparatus for multiplying records



May 8, 1934. D. WOLFSON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLYING RECORDS Filed Sept. 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gvwemtoz ay 8, 1934. D. WOLFSON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLYING RECORDS Filed Sept. 3, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 8, 1934 UNITED STATES METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLY- ING RECORDS David Wolfson, Far Rockaway, N. Y., assignor to Frederick W. Storck, Arlington, Mass.

Application September 3, 1930, Serial No. 479,461

4 Claims.

The present improvements relate, in general, to copy multiplying apparatus, and more particularly to novel means and methods for producing a maximum number of records from a single master copy.

A primary object, among others, of the improvements is to provide novel apparatus and methods for insuring a plurality of perfect copies from a master record.

Another object is to provide an improved moistening device for dampening the sheets to be printed, and to provide a novel organization embodying same.

A still further object is to provide a novel 5 method for dampening the sheets to be printed.

Other objects include the provision of novel details of construction and arrangement of parts which will be apparent upon reference to the accompanying specification and drawings, in Which-- Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, illustrating an apparatus embodying one form of the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, with parts broken away or removed, of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the copy or master drum 5 is suitably journalled for rotation at 6,

in the side members 7 of the frame, as is customary in duplicating machines of this type. The

drum is provided with a recess 8 having clamping means 9 for securing one end of the master copy, as will hereinafter appear. Integral with the drum or otherwise associated therewith for simultaneous rotation, is a cam member 10. A gear 11 keyed or otherwise operatively associated with drum 10 is illustrated in mesh with gear 12, which latter in turn is in mesh with driving gear 13. Accordingly, clockwise rotation (Fig. 1) of the gear 13 serves to rotate the drum in a similar direction.

Feed rollers 14 and 15 are associated with the aforementioned elements and serve to feed the sheets to be printed onto and over the master copy. The roller 14 is more specifically a moistening roller, while the roller 15 may properly be designated a compression roller. The roller 14 is preferably provided with a metallic or other substantially non-yielding surface and has a gear 16 in mesh with the aforementioned gear 12. Ac-

cordingly, clockwise movement of driving gear 13 (Fig. 1) causes drum 5 and dampening roller 14 to move in clockwise directions The novel moistening apparatus of the present improvements includes the aforementioned roller 14 and reservoir 17. This reservoir is suitably attached to the frame of the apparatus for ready removal, and, as seen in Fig. 2, extends substantially the width of the roller 14. The reservoir or tank 17 is provided adjacent its top with a longitudinal slot in which is disposed a wick or other absorbent means 18, which extends well down into the reservoir but projects thereabove, so that its exposed portions contact with the surface of the roller 14. As illustrated, a backing member 19 protrudes from the reservoir and serves to maintain the wick in constant engagement with the rotating surface of the roller 14. It is apparent that when the tank or reservoir is provided with suitable liquid, the exposed portion of the wick 18 will be dampened by capillary attraction, thereby in turn moistening the surface of the roller.

The compression roller 15 is journalled on pivoted arms 20 which are held under tension by means of a spring 21 .or other convenient energized agency. The compression roller is accordingly held under tension in opposed relation to the moistening roller 14. A cam 22 provided on one arm 20 is disposed in alignment with the cam 10 on master drum 5, so as to be intermittently engaged thereby with each rotation of the drum 5, for moving the compression roller 15 a slight distance from the moistening roller and in opposition to the energy of spring 21. Table 22 is removably supported in brackets 23 and is provided with a suitable gauge 24 for supporting sheets to be printed in proper alignment with the feed rollers 14 and 15. In order that the sheets, after passing through the rollers and toward the drum 5 may be prevented from engaging the master copy until in the desired position, a shield 25 is provided, suitably anchored in front of the drum and extending in curved relation upwardly between same and the tank 17 and roller 14.

An impression roller 26 is eccentrically journalled above the drum 5 and is provided with operating arm 27 having a spring actuated stud 28 adapted to engage in recesses in plate 29. The arrangement of these elements is such thatupon moving the arm 27 so that the stud engages a succeeding recess, the impression roller 26 is' advanced infinitesimally in order to maintain the desired pressure on the sheets to be printed while they are aligned with and over the master copy. Where one hundred and fifty or two hundred copies are to be taken from one record, the' pigment of the ink characters manifestly is not as bold after the printing of say one hundred copies. Therefore, it is desirable to minutely increase the pressure on the sheets as they are being printed, so as to insure that the remaining pigment on the 1fopy has an opportunity to fully perform its wor In preparing the.apparatus for operation, the reservoir 17 may be wholly or partially filled through the filler cap with a suitable liquid of a rapidly \drying or highly volatile nature, having a hydrocarbon content for ready evaporation. As the wick 18 dips into the liquid in the reservoir, the liquid is carried upwardly by capillary attraction so that the exposed portion of the wick across the top of the reservoir is moist. The handle may be turned in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) that is away from the observer in Fig. 2, thereby positively driving moistening roller 14 in a clockwise direction (Fig. By this operation the wick member engaging the surface of the roller 14 serves to thoroughly dampen its surface with a film of moisture, the backing plate 19 insuring that the wick is kept in engagement with paper sheet in reverse.

the roller at all times throughout its length. The roller 14 is thus provided with a limited amount of the highly volatile liquid which is evenly distributed in a film on the periphery of the roller, an excess amount of liquid being impossible due to the limited quantity of moisture supplied by the capillary means in contact therewith.

In operating the illustrated mechanism for practicing the improved methods, a master copy is made. This master copy may be produced by means of writing, printing or drawing on suitable paper with copying ink, the material to be copied. Manifestly, this may be accomplished in an ordinary typewriter by taking a sheet of paper and placing beneath same an inverted sheet of suitable carbon paper, so that the carbon or inked face of the paper is in engagement with the under face of the paper sheet. Upon disposing these sheets in a typewriter, a duplicated copy of the writing is made on the reverse side of the Therefore, after the desired material is typed, the sheet comes out as a master copy having the proper typing on one face and a. duplicate reverse copy on the other face thereof.

This master copy with the ink characters in reverse is now placed on the drum 5, suitably se-= cured in the recess 8 by clamp 9, with the reverse duplicate side of the sheet outermost. If the roller 14 has not already been suitably moistened, thehandle 30 may now be rotated where by drum 5 and roller 14 are rotated, thereby suitably dampening the latter throughout its surface by means of wick 18, as heretofore described. The sheets to be printed may now be placed face downwardly on the table 22 and as handle 30 is being rotated, the sheets may be fed one by one between feed rollers 14 and 15. Upon rotation of the drum 5, the cam 10 approaches and engages cam 22, thereby slightly moving compression roller 15 outwardly for permitting the insertion of a sheet between same and the roller 14. Upon continued advancement of the drum, cam 10 passes beyond cam 22, whence roller 15 descends under the energy of spring 21, whereby the sheet to be printed is held between the rollers and advanced under the driving action of the lower or moistening roller 14.

These opposed rollers thus grip the sheet and advance it toward the master drum, during which operation the lower face of the sheet is thoroughly and uniformly dampened with a limited amount of moisture, and in that state approaches the roller 26 opposed to drum 5.

It is apparent that, as the sheet is being advanced by the positively driven roller 14, the forward edge thereof will not engage the drum or master copy due to the presence of the shield 25. Should the forward edge of the sheet drop somewhat it will merely ride up on said shield to a position for passing over into contact with the master copy, which reaches the position of the impression roller at the same time as the sheet to be printed arrives at this location. Continued rotation of drum 5 and roller 14 advances the sheet to be printed and the master copy beneath the impression roller 26, whereby the lower face of the moistened sheet slightly dissolves the pigment of the ink characters on the master copy, with the result that the sheet to be printed emerges as a negative copy, but with the printing or writing in proper and correct form. The sheets to be printed, upon passing beyond the roller 26, may be deposited one upon another, without any concern from smudging or blurring by reason of this contact, because of the rapid evaporation or drying of the moisture on the under face of the copied sheet. Manifestly, this operation may be repeated with the intermittent raising and lowering of compression roller 15 accompanied by the feeding of the sheets until approximately one hundred and fifty or two hundred perfect copies are taken from the master record. As aforementioned, the pressure imposed by impression rollerv 26 may be increased, if necessary, when making the last hundred copies, due to the calibration provided.

Numerous advantages of this mechanism will be apparent. All the gears and rollers are impelled by a single or common driving element, namely, gear 13, and therefore move at the same relative speed thereby insuring perfect alignment of the sheets with the master copy at all times. In'situations where a series of sheets are run through the device with one master copy and then run through again with another master copy for filling in blanks, adding price lists, or other ma terial, it is apparent that this arrangement insures perfect alignment of the printed sheets with the second master copy, for accurately copying such insertions with the result that the finished copy is perfect in every detail, so that the double printing may not be detected, either from the character of the ink or from the alignment of the characters, which, experience has taught, is perfeet when accomplished with the present apparatus.

Furthermore, the moistening roller 14 is also the driving roller, and therefore is always rotating, thereby insuring an even film of moisture at all times over the entire roller. This in turn insures an even film of moisture on the reverse side of the sheet to be printed from beneath, so that all material on the master copy is insured of transfer onto the finished copy. Due to the nonyielding character of the moistening roller, no dry areas are left on the sheet, the presence of which are undesirable. Since the opposed rollers 14 and 15, one of which is the dampening roller, constitute the sheet-feeding and impelling means, it is manifest that the sheet appraches the master copy in its normal undistorted state, with the result that no wrinkles are present therein and no unprinted streaks occur across the face of the copy. This dampening of the sheets while they are absolutely fiat, unwrinkled and unstrained, cannot be over emphasized.

A further feature of importance resides in the application of the moisture to the sheet by capillary attraction rather than by gravity application or immersion of the sheets themselves. By maintaining the liquid reservoir and wick in spaced relation to the sheet so that the wick does not positively engage same, but rather by producing a film of moisture first and then transferring that uniform film to the sheet, the improvements overcome known shortcomings of familiar constructions wherein felt, or other absorbents engage directly with the sheet and attempt to moisten them, but with uneven and non-uniform results. The interposition of an even surfaced, substantially non-yielding roller between the liquid supply means and the sheets to be printed, contributes materially to the perfect copies derived from the illustrated embodiment.

It is notable that the impression roller 26 may be readily removable for replacement, if desired. Furthermore, in view of the character of the liquid employed, reservoir 17 may be removed when the device is idle, for safety measures, such as the prevention of fire, etc. While it is obvious to those skilled in the art that a carbon paper or other suitable pigment should be employed in making the master copy, and that a volatile liquid adapted to dissolve apart of the ink applied to the master copy is preferable, nevertheless, the present improvements contemplate the employment" of a solidified volatile substance, or a suitable substance containing solidified alcohol, for dissolving a part of the ink, whereby the record is transferred to the sheet of paper to be printed. In

trates a construction wherein the handle 30 is operable by the attendants left hand, nevertheless, it is manifest that the driving mechanism illustrated at the left side of Fig. 2 may be suitably disposed on the right hand side thereof, for convenient operation by a right hand individual. Likewise, the operator's handle may be attached directly to gear 12, thereby dispensing with gear 13, if desired. Furthermore, it is understood that the present improvements are not limited for application in manually operated devices, but that the gear 12 or gear 13, if used, may be automatically driven, as by a motor or other convenient prime mover.

Various other mechanisms for practicing the improved methods and various modifications of the present improvements may occur to those skilled in the art, and may be made without departing from the scope and purview of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a copy-multiplying device having a master copy drum, in combination, opposed feed rollers for advancing a sheet to be printed, one of said rollers being journalled under tension, means operable by said drum for intermittently moving ,said tensioned roller relative to the other feed and another of said rollers engaging said wick.

2 A copy duplicating apparatus comprising a rotary drum adapted to carry a master copy, opposed sheet-feeding rollers associated therewith, means engaging one of said rollers for dampening same, means for simultaneously actuating said last mentioned roller and drum, another of said rollers being tensioned and cam means operable with said drum for moving said tensioned roller.

3. In a copy-multiplying device having a master copy drum, in combination, opposed feed rollers for advancing a sheet to be printed, one of said rollers being journaled under tension, cam means for moving said tensioned roller, wick means for moistening the other of said rolls with 10 a thin film of liquid.

4. A copy duplicating apparatus comprising a rotary drum adapted to carry a master copy, opposed sheet-feeding rollers associated therewith, said rollers having substantially non-absorbent 115 surfaces, wick means for engaging one of said rollers for dampening same, means for simultaneously actuating said dampened roller and drum, a movable arm adjacent said drum, another of said feeding rollers journaled on said 1 arm, said last named roller being normally urged toward said dampened roller and cam'means for moving said arm and roller away from said dampened roller. 

